Monthly Archives: August 2013

This is all Veggie Biking can figure out at the moment about this event.“Come join us to identify barriers and opportunities, share best practices and develop priorities for active transportation in Orange County.”

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The Veggie Biker replaced a busted taillight with the Bicygnals tail light and turn signal system. The control unit with headlight and turn signal are on the front handle bars. The rear light and turn signal mounts on the seat post.They are connected wirelessly.

Of course, what the veggie guy really wanted was the wireless lights, turn signals and brake light system. But only a few prototypes have been released and are hard to get. You can find wired systems.

The Bicygnals two units nestle together in a small pouch in your brief case. When you are ready to ride, take the front and back units apart, turn each on, watch them blink a few times to indicate they are synched, then snap them onto their handlebar and seat mounts. They snap off easily, too.

Only small problem: The turn signal blinks about 65 times, then turns itself off. A great help 90 percent of the time. However, in a long lane of left-turning traffic, the signal will turn off just as you face off with the car across the intersection.

The City of Fullerton is looking at “low-hanging fruit” improvements in bicycle transportation safety, including painting signs to create sharrows–traffic lanes in which motorists are informed bicycles by law have full rights to use traffic lanes. It would be the first improvement in 15 months.

By Jane Rands, North Orange County Bicycle Advocates Coalition

Fullerton City bicycle advocates are pushing for inexpensive initial improvements now in bicycle safety in the city while pursuing larger projects.

A long overdue North Orange County Bicycle Advocates Coalition (NOCBAC) gathering of the usual crowd with the usual fare (pizza and beer) met Aug. 5 at Davis Barber’s office at the Villa Del Sol in Fullerton.

Among the attendees were OCTA Citizens’ Advisory Committee (CAC) members, Vince Buck, Roy Shahbazian, and Laurel Reimer, and Alta Planning consultant, Paul Martin, who is assisting OCTA in developing the Districts 1 & 2 Bikeways Strategic Plan, which is currently in public review.

The Fullerton City Council will be discussing bicycle issues at an upcoming meeting, possibly August 20. Vince Buck thought that NOCBAC should recommend some inexpensive bicycling facilities such as signage and sharrows. NOCBAC members shared ideas, such as signage to fill gaps in class II and class III routes, sharrows where bike lanes abruptly end and should be placed outside of the door zone, and resurfacing roads, especially the shoulders.

Cities are adopting a common nomenclature to describe biking facilities. Class I bike routes are completely separate from traffic. Class II bike routes have on-street, outlined bike lanes. Class III bike routes are streets with signs denoting that it is a bicycle route; which can be the hash-marks-and-bicycle icon, sharrow, painted on the street.

CAC members noted that $4 million in federal Clean Air funds will be available in the fall as grants through Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) for projects that are “shovel ready,” like segments in the Bikeways Master Plan that just need paint or signage.

Fullerton Mobility Planner, Jay Eastman, has applied for a grant through the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) to fund the planning phase of the Wilshire Bike Boulevard. The bike boulevard will help riders traversing between California State University-Fullerton and downtown Fullerton via the upcoming “BikeLink” bike sharing sponsored by OCTA. Buck expressed concern over waiting for another grant to implement the bike boulevard. Instead, NOCBAC can advocate for inexpensive initial improvements.

Like a car, you can use the left-hand turn lane to make a turn; and like a pedestrian, you can ride on the sidewalk; Unless there are signs prohibiting these things.

This Los Angeles Police Department bicycle training video makes it clear; your bicycle is a vehicle that has a place on the road.

It is also a vehicle that can be given traffic tickets for failure to yield, stop, or to maintain a safe speed. But you do belong on California’s roadways, streets and sidewalks. Learn the facts, watch the video.

The Orange County Transportation Authority Bikeways map shows those roads safest for bicycles in the county, plus such things as bicycle lockers for leaving your bike locked up safely while commuting by Metrolink.

Often, in a blizzard of visual information, you often becomes quickly aware of what is not seen. Such as BIKEWAYS DO NOT EXIST IN BUENA PARK.

This jumps out at you as you scan the map included in the Orange County Transportation Authority’s new bicycle guide website. The detailed map has all the designated bicycle routes in Orange county. You can order a printed copy, but probably you won’t, as the website and the PDF map work on the Veggie Biker’s SmartPhone. You have a pocketful of information as you ride.

The website has a lot of basic information as to how to use The O.C. Bikeways and buses and trains, such as:

The RSVP site reads, “The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) has brought together the 1st & 2nd Supervisorial District cities, the County of Orange, and Caltrans to develop an implementation strategy for regionally significant bikeways. These agencies have been collaborating over the past several months to identify potential bikeway corridors that improve connectivity across city boundaries for bicyclists. As a stakeholder in the local community,” the site continues, “your opinion is very valuable in this effort.”

The 2nd Regional Bikeways Workshop is scheduled to allow interested citizens and organizations to provide input on the Draft Bikeways Strategy document. That means, citizens get to tell the government where they want tax dollars spent.

The document, according to this site, “will identify a set of regional bikeway corridors that connect major activity areas such as employment centers, transit stations, colleges, and universities. The Bikeways Strategy will also provide an implementation toolbox of bikeway treatments and enhancements, as well as information on bikeways funding resources.”

About Us: A spandex-free zone

Veggie Biking is a news site for people who use bicycles in their everyday lives. We don't get dressed up to go bicycling. We get dressed up to commute to work, or dress down to go to the store. The publisher, Robert R. Mercer, can be contacted at r2mercer@veggiebiking.com.